The belief that the similarities between business administration and public administration are more significant than the differences led in the 1950s to the development of schools teaching administration as a generic process. This paper reassesses eight tenets underlying the generic model for administrative education, drawn from the work of early advocates and developers of the concept. Directed toward both the nature of the concept and its implementation, these eight tenets hold that (1) significant phenomena and problems are common to the many fields of administration; (2) a common body of knowledge and methodological approach exists; (3) many administrators will work in the business, government, and education sectors in various combinations during their careers, and can be trained in all simultaneously; (4) the allocation of faculty resources is based on the programmatic integrity of both the core and the institutional areas; (5) recruitment of students and placement of graduates need not be differentiated among client groups; (6) the academic experience facilitates preparation for private and public management equally; (7) the commonalities of the generic ideal can overcome traditionally differentiating forces in the university environment; and (8) generic schools are efficient vehicles for education in public and private management. (Author/PGD)

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